Paulina Kelly
Writer, actor and maker of stories
Current Assignments
Project |01
Project |01 Children's Picture Books
The picture books I write use ungendered protagonists and un-stereotyped characters. This allows children to explore and express their gender naturally without being positioned into a particular way of being. Additionally I do not stereotype 'family'. Rather I keep adults in the peripheral and when present they remain ungendered. Family, I believe, is whatever you make it.
My stories are entertaining, visual and imaginative: there's colourful animals in the mirror who feel different emotions; magical rooms to grow up in when everyone is sleeping; insects and animals who give clues in the garden; there's a character who thinks everything smells like dirty socks; and a story about the river of farts plus many, many more.
My aim is to write books that let children view books as merely stories rather than being books for girls or books for boys.
Project |02
Project |02 The Cafe Sitcom
Ever been to a lousy cafe and wondered how it survives?
Ever wondered what shenanngins go on behind the scenes?
Ever wondered what the staff say about customers?
This sitcom situated entirely inside an unsuccessful cafe. There's the barista, the chef, the waitress, the manager and the ill-equipped owner. They all struggle to get along and nobody understands each other, but more importantly they all need the cafe to start making a profit.
So, what is keeping the cafe from being successful? The answer will astound you, it may even make you laugh but along the way you'll see these crazy characters discover something they all believe in - their friendship and the cafe that brought them together.
Project |03
Project |03 The Silent Good-bye
This feature film is based on the true story of my family's escape from Czechoslovakia.
In 1980, a family hopes for a better life and makes plans to escape commnist Czechoslovakia. But, the anxious father decides he can’t go through with it leaving the terrified yet determined mother to make the precarious journey, with her two young daughters, on her own.
Will they make it, and what will happen if they don't?
Project |03
Project |04
Project |04 The Contemporary Romance
Reny is a single woman in her late thirties, and you know what that means? She's OLD!
Well, she's not accepting any of that so when a rundown and dilapidated theatre in a small town comes up for sale she knows exactly what she must do.
Bring it back to life, the only problem - she has no idea what she's doing and she's short of cash to boot.
How will she cope doing this all on her own? How will she convince the town folk she means well? And where will she get the money from? And who is this Elliott character she's drawn to - could he be the love of her life?
This novel is written half in play format and half in narrative thus blurring the lines between drama in life and life's drama's.